3rd Athens Biennale - part II

3rd Athens Biennale 2011

MONODROME

23 October – 11 December 2011

Diplareios School

Diplareios School at Plateia Theatrou is a seminal Arts and Crafts School that was inaugurated in 1932. The School hosted over 65.000 students of all technical specialties, who subsequently staffed the Greek Industries and Public Administration and contributed to the growth and modernisation of the National Economy. Departments included Woodcarving, Millinery, Plastics, Geometrical design, Furniture making, Drawing etc.

Located in a ghostly, degraded block in the heart of the city that had fallen into oblivion, the building is opening up to the public for the first time in its history. The 3rd Athens Biennale transforms Diplareios School into an international hub that hosts the largest part of the MONODROME exhibition, as well as a diverse programme of live events, performances, workshops and lectures.

Eleftherias Park: Arts Centre, Eleftherios Venizelos Museum

The 3rd Athens Biennale, in collaboration with the Cultural Organisation of the Municipality of Athens, will also take place in a complex of venues and museums at Eleftherias Park, including the Arts Centre and the Eleftherios Venizelos Museum, focal site of Modern Greek history.

The Eleftherias Park was designed in 1960 by the architect Panayiotis Vokotopoulos and hosts a complex of buildings that were used as headquarters of the 34th Regiment during the Balkan Wars.

 The sculpture of Eleftherios Venizelos was created by Yiannis Pappas. Throughout the dictatorship (1967-1974), the Park was used by the Greek Military Police that tortured dissidents in the current Museum of Anti-dictatorial and Democratic Resistance and was renamed Eleftherias Park (Park of Liberty) after it was acquired by the City of Athens, in 1984.

The Eleftherios Venizelos Museum was inaugurated in 1986. Its main collection is a donation of the Zacharias and Antonios Makatounis, who collected over a number of years personal items of Eleftherios Venizelos such as documents photographs and portraits, as well as items referring to his time.

The structure of the Museum covers a decisive historical period in Greece, sealed by the political figure of Eleftherios Venizelos.

[ source ]

[ to be continued ]